December 11, 2011

Toronto Sissies and Bitchies....

In this weekend's National Post, Canada's national right wing newspaper, hateful columnist Christie Blatchford manages to offend me and thousands of others yet again, this time with a column title "Toronto, City of Sissies" where she bemoans how effeminate men have become, She says modern men need toughening up, a theme apparently promoted by seeing boys hug each other hello... rather than what? spit? bump fists? fire guns? Tell me again, how is hugging bad?:

Toronto likes its men delicate, slender and arch, not sportif unless le sport in question is maybe badminton, and if those little boys I saw on Yonge Street are any indication, Toronto is even now about to achieve perfection in this coming generation.

Do not mistake this as a plea for head-banging in sport, a defence of bullies, or a veiled anti-gay message. I have no particular fondness for gratuitous roughness in games, no time for bullies at all, and as a downtowner, I live surrounded by gay men, who, like most women, I adore as a group.

But holy smokes, I am wearying of the male as delicate creature. I am wearying of men who are so frequently in touch with their feminine side they, not to mention me, have lost sight of the masculine one. I’m just plain sick of hugs, giving and getting, from just about anyone, but particularly man-to-man hugs.

And the novelty of being the toughest guy in the room – and by this I mean me – is getting really old.

In aid of all that, let me offer a few reminders of the way it was once upon a time and really always should be.

Really? Back to the past? When men were men, women were chattel, gays were closeted, and bullying was not talked about? When the only newspaper column women had a hope of writing was housekeeping or dating advice? What about evolution, you moron?

I know men have feelings too. I just don’t need to know much more than that. On any list of The 25 Things Every Man And Boy Should Know How To Do, hugging is not one of them. Killing bugs is. Whacking bullies is. Kissing is. Farting on cue is. Making the sound of a train in a tunnel is. Shooting a puck is. Hugging is not. Feel free to give this to your male children. You’re entirely welcome.

Men have feelings too? So compassionate! After a rant in favour of Toronto's anti-library mayor Rob Ford, she writes "In Toronto, actual education routinely takes a back seat to anti-bullying messages, gay-positive education, recognition assemblies and social justice."

Yes people, this nationally known columnist is anti-hugging, and chooses to use her public platform to bemoan men who are caring rather than macho jerks. Hello 1956!

Geez, good thing this week had no bullying or hate crime or economic issues to write about. Hey Christie, Fox News calling on line 2...